New Starbucks drinks, treats

Wednesday

Mar 7, 2012 at 12:01 AMMar 7, 2012 at 9:29 PM

Shelley Mann, Columbus Alive

I got a chance today to sample a few new goodies just added to the Starbucks menu. Columbus is actually a test market for a couple of new drinks, including the one pictured above, the Tazo Shaken Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade. It's also available sans the lemonade (called, naturally, the Tazo Shaken Iced Peach Green Tea).

Both were perfectly refreshing cool drinks perfect for warm afternoons. If you've had the Tazo green tea, you know it's got a little hint of mint flavor, and that pairs great with the sweetness of the peach. The drinks are flavored with peach syrup and little bits of peach fruit. I slightly preferred the non-lemonade version myself.

The new spring drinks coincide with the unveiling of a few new treats across the country. Starbucks Petites line of pastries are all 200 calories or less. The Petite Cherry Pie, pictured above, was a favorite--nice and crusty with a surprisingly authentic tasting cherry pie center.

The filling in the Petite Apple Pie tasted a little too similar to the McDonald's apple pies for me, but again the crust was great.

This Chocolate Hazelnut Tart is a shortbread cookie filled with a great Nutella-like filling.

And the Brown Sugar Walnut Tart was another winner, tasting like a gourmet Maple Brown Sugar Pop-Tart (and I mean that as a compliment).